


I Don't Care What you Look Like

by PrinceWrites37



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Annie Leonhart is a Bitch, Comfort, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, Lots of Hurt, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, No Beta we die like Eren's Mom, One Shot, POV Third Person Omniscient, Reiner Braun is Bad at Feelings, Self-Discovery, Shy Bertolt Hoover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:48:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27443653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrinceWrites37/pseuds/PrinceWrites37
Summary: Reiner Braun is a man apart of the training corps to become a Solider in the military police, but he's also the Armored Titan. The same Titan that destroyed wall Maria all those years ago. This is a secret he can't share with anyone except for his 2 friends who helped him attack the walls, Annie Leonhardt the Female Titan and Bertolt Hoover the Colossal Titan. They just had to never transform in front of the people of Paradis, easy enough.. right?It appears Reiner has transformed on accident while he and Bertolt were alone, this wouldn't have been bad.../but then he couldn't transform back/
Relationships: Reiner Braun & Bertolt Hoover & Annie Leonhart, Reiner Braun/Bertolt Hoover
Comments: 3
Kudos: 40





	I Don't Care What you Look Like

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know why I haven't posted any of my Reibert stories here yet, because I love my two babies.  
> Also please know this is canon compliant but is also somewhat an au of mine, so please know not everything you'll read here is canon. Enjoy the story!
> 
> Also also sorry, this is one of my older stories so it was pretty terribly written so I might rewrite it in the future? not sure yet

_At the barracks one lonely autumn night after training_

Many of the trainees had turned in for the night, today's training went on for hours without breaks and understandably many of the soldiers in training had fell asleep the moment they hit their beds

Not Reiner though, Reiner wasn't tired  
The large blonde laid starring up into the ceiling that he could barely see due to the lack of light in the room. He didn't know what time it was, but he could tell it was nearing midnight

He wasn't sure what was keeping him up, and no matter what he did his body seemed to refuse to sleep. Is it adrenaline? Is it his racing thoughts? Or is it just badly timed insomnia?

Either way he begged to go to sleep despite his body not being the slightest bit tired. He turned to his side and huffed staring off to the other beds that were barely visible now, shrouded in darkness that hid the sleeping occupants

He wished he was like them. Unknowing and resting easy despite the world around them being a complete mystery

Suddenly he felt a hand tap his shoulder, he flipped over now facing the wall and the bed mashed beside his. There was his best friend, Bertolt

"Are you ok? You've been looking upset lately"  
The brown haired male spoke so quietly and softly Reiner probably could have thought it was a mouse if he was farther away from the bed

Reiner shrugged  
"I mean, it's same old same old. Haven't been able to sleep lately though"  
Unlike Bertolt's soft and caring whisper, Reiner's whisper was a little louder and a lot more husky sounding

Bertolt seemed to think for a minute then looked at Reiner again with a smile on his face  
"Let's get out of here then, go see the lake or just... spend a while under the stars"

Reiner smiled and leaned up stretching his aching limbs that would hurt a lot more in the morning. He looked over to Bertolt  
"Let's do this"

The two found their way out their bed quietly and snuck out the quiet barracks full of unknowing sleeping occupations into the cold air from the changing of the seasons

Reiner found a lantern sat outside their building, he grabbed it and had followed Bertolt off into the forest line

He had been back here multiple times, with his 'team mates' or just with Bertolt. Really he, Bertolt, Annie, Armin, and Eren were the only ones who knew this small spot in the forest

The place was perfect for secretiveness because it was surrounded by the deep forest and other things. It was perfect for Annie, Reiner, and Bertolt to meet up and talk planning, but also perfect for Reiner to teach Eren and Armin to fight

Or in this instance, perfect for Reiner and Bertolt to get some much needed alone time. They had been friends since... as long as Reiner could remember. So they often came here alone to talk about their problems or just talk about training and home

Reiner and Bertolt came to clearing and Bertolt took Reiner's much larger hand in his slender smaller one. He led them into the center of the clearing and looked up to the stars  
"They look really pretty tonight.."

Bertolt was smiling so happily as he stared at the sky, Reiner couldn't stop looking at the taller man's happy face. It brought a soft smile to his own face and his face heated up slightly, he was definitely blushing even though he didn't even realize it yet

Reiner went to go hang the lantern on a tree branch nearby so they could sit in the somewhat lighted area and see the stars

Bertolt had sat down and was waiting for his blonde friend to return. Reiner sat down beside his friend and looked up to the sky  
"It's really... cool out at least. I love the barracks but it gets so hot at night"

Bertolt laughed softly  
"I know, you always complain and kick off the blankets, and then a few minutes later they're right back on top of you"  
Reiner's face lit up with blush. He didn't know if it was embarrassment or something else

The sound of something metal falling caught their attention, they whipped around. Reiner had pulled out his knife and had brought in to his hand just in case someone was there, Bertolt was just looking over to the noise

No one was there, except for the small creature on the branch where the lantern used to sit. Now it was clear the creature had knocked the lantern off its perch. Reiner and Bertolt let out a sigh of relief and Reiner put the blade away

Reiner and Bertolt stood up, Bertolt began to walk to the shore of the lake and Reiner went back to grab the lantern

Reiner's thoughts ran rampant as he tried to calm down, because he really thought for a second they had been caught. He moved purely from instinct for his knife and when he realized how stupid it'd be to transform it was too late and the blade was already pushed onto the skin in his hand

They hadn't said anything suspicious, so he didn't know why he thought they were compromised. As if, Reiner and Bertolt were plenty careful. It's not like Reiner would do anything stupid.. right?

He crouched down and looked at the lantern, it was now out. He swore under his breath and reached his hand out to grab it

That's when it happened

Reiner was covered in steam and lightning in a matter of seconds as he transformed. Bertolt, who was luckily far enough away to not get blasted away by the blast covered his face from the hot wind from the transformation

"REINER?!"  
Bertolt had managed to scream his friend's name worriedly. When he felt the wind calm down he uncovered his face and saw the armored titan sitting there. Reiner clearly didn't completely transform. He was barely 10 meters, compared to his usual 15 meter height, and was lacking in armor, his limbs seemed slimmer and a lot smaller than normal and were the least covered in the armor plates

Bertolt ran over to Reiner's titan worriedly, he was like a small animal compared to the titan. He was waiting for Reiner to come out the titan but he didn't, causing Bertolt to worry  
"Reiner what the hell is going on?? Come on, come out! We don't know if anyone heard you transform, or even saw it!"

The titan looked at Bertolt then to the ground. It seemed confused. Was Reiner having an issue with his titan? Why now of all times!

Bertolt and Reiner soon snapped their heads to the sounds of voices. Shit! Someone did in fact hear them. Suddenly a large hand grabbed Bertolt, it was Reiner

Reiner seemed to think for a second then turned and put Bertolt on his head. He then began to crawl away as swiftly as he could. He moved like some wounded animal because of his weak limbs

When they were far enough into the forest Reiner's titan laid down tiredly. Allowing Bertolt to get down and look at Reiner now  
"Reiner are you ok?"

The titan let out a tired huff, he didn't have the muscles to talk so trying to communicate wasn't gonna work

"Why haven't you left your titan? We're safe now come out"

Reiner now avoided his friend's gaze. God he wished he could speak so he could tell Bertolt what's wrong. Which is that for some reason he's stuck

"Reiner... are you stuck? Is it like that time during training in Marley?"

Reiner remembered the day vividly because the experience was so terrifying at the time that it engraved into his mind. It was when they were training their titans so they could use them in battle, Reiner had ended up stuck in his titan

He remembered ever part, the loud sounds of people commanding him to leave the titan... the sound of a worried Bertolt. He vividly remembered his thoughts too which were full of fear. Fear that he would be stuck forever

Luckily they had a way to cut him out, and he was just fine after getting back into transforming again. It hadn't happened since then, so it definitely brought back the fear from that day

Reiner, who didn't realize he hadn't responded, eagerly nodded his head. Bertolt sighed and put his hand on the Titan's cheek  
"What do you want to do..? We can't exactly cut you out like last time, we don't have the equipment"

That made Reiner freeze up. He was right. He ran a titan hand over his nape which was tightly guarded by the armor. Shit

Reiner sat up now and his titan let out what sounded like a sigh. He wanted Bertolt to go find Annie but he didn't know how to tell Bertolt that. Then the reminder hit of a few days after the first time this happened. A memory

Bertolt had taught him a small amount of sign language after the first time it happened. It was the only reason Reiner ever transformed again. It made him feel better to be able to communicate if he ever got stuck again

Reiner dug through his thoughts and began to spell out 'Annie' with his hands. He was sure he messed up and mixed up A and E but it seemed Bertolt understood  
"You want me to get Annie for help?"

Reiner nodded, now feeling a lot better since Bertolt understood him. Bertolt stepped back from his titanized friend

"I'll go see if she woke up due to the commotion and bring her here. Stay here and be quiet. We don't need anyone knowing you're here and weak"

Reiner didn't do anything now, he just laid down his head against the ground. Being in this form was tiring and now his body had decided it was tired. He can't sleep now, he has to stay awake and get out of his body

Bertolt left now running through the forest and trying to find the camp. He did run past the clearing quietly to see commander Shadis and a few soldiers in the clearing talking and inspecting the scene. One holding the lantern they had brought with them. They didn't seem to know a titan transformation happened here

How could they? They didn't know titan shifters existed. They seemed to be theorizing that some stupid kids came out here and accidentally caused an explosion with some fire. Which would explain the burnt patch of grass. It didn't explain the thunder sound they heard

Bertolt continued past them trying to avoid Soldiers skimming the forest. He begged that they wouldn't find Reiner now. He soon found the camp and slipped out the forest line. Luckily no one was standing near the forest to see him leaving the scene

He looked until he saw the cabin he recognized as the girls cabin. There was a soft light coming from the room and quiet mutters of voices. He walked over to the window near Annie's bed that had the cloth covering it usually removed. Annie sat staring out it, her gaze stuck on the forest

Bertolt walked in front of her eyes and made eye contact. They shared a wordless conversation. Annie stood up, now covering the window with the cloth again and walked outside meeting Bertolt in front of her window  
"We have an issue"

"I think Marley heard your issue. You woke up the whole camp with the sound"  
Annie was pissed and it was clear on her typically emotionless face, her arms crossed angrily. Bertolt didn't like admitting it but Annie scared him. She was the best warrior and could probably snap his neck before he could finish a sentence

"Not me. Reiner. We were outside talking in the clearing and he went to pick up a fallen lantern and... now we're here"  
Bertolt spoke quickly and barely loud enough to be heard. Annie seemed to understand anyway, despite how quickly he spoke and how his words seemed to blend together

"So? Tell him to transform back"  
Bertolt and Annie shared eye contact and a few more unspoken words were exchanged. Annie seemed to get the message  
"He can't. Can he?"

Bertolt sighed and nodded  
"He seemed to agree when I asked if it was like the time during training. He's isn't very strong right now, and isn't all that big either. He asked me to come get you for help"

Annie rolled her eyes and let her arms down from her chest  
"You two always need my help... whatever. Lead the way to the dumbass"

With that Bertolt and Annie took off into the forest without saying anything to each other. Luckily Bertolt remembered the way

When they found Reiner he was still laying on the ground, now his head rested on the weak looking arms. He seemed to lay just like Reiner would, out of his titan. Now that he was looking at Reiner he realized if he could stand Bertolt was sure he'd tower over these small trees, which is why he isn't even sitting right now

Reiner seemed to know they were there but he didn't stop blank staring off into the forest silently

"Honestly I shouldn't help you two. That was stupid and now our planning spot was discovered. You two ask for my help too often, you should find this one out on your own"

Annie's anger showed in her words that she had hissed out. Bertolt had walked closer to Reiner. Hoping Reiner would protect him from Annie's words

Reiner looked away from the stars and away from Annie and huffed. He was definitely being a sassy asshole now

"Don't huff at me! You are the one who woke me up, you should have known I wasn't gonna be happy"

Reiner looked at Annie kind of angrily then to the timid Bertolt that was now semi hiding behind his arm

"Whatever. You two try to find this out. If you can't find it out by tomorrow night I'll fix this issue. Fix your own problem"  
And with that Annie left the two alone, disappearing into the forest. Neither dared to stop her

Reiner now laid his head sideways on his arms to look at Bertolt now. He felt sadness hit him, with a touch of fear. He was terrified still, even though now he remembered he could talk to Bertolt anyway

"You feeling ok Reiner?"  
Reiner looked away from the forest where he was watching Annie leave into now looking at the small Bertolt who had sat down beside his head. The titan turned his head away from Bertolt with a huff. He had no idea how to say he was tired. He only remembered a few phrases in sign language

He knew how to ask for help, how to say he was stuck, and he knew how to spell all the other Titan shifter's names

He rolled over onto his side now facing Bertolt and closed his eyes, hoping that'd give his friends the message  
"You're tired?"

Reiner opened his eyes and nodded softly, and closed his eyes again. Bertolt got up and stretched  
"Rest. I'll watch over you for now"

Reiner didn't respond this time so Bertolt just assumed the titan was either too tired to respond or was already asleep

Bertolt wasn't sure what to do now. So he decided on watching Reiner sleep. He didn't know why he did this but he would watch Reiner sleep occasionally. It would help him feel.. safe? Something about being near Reiner gave him the same feeling

He began to feel safe around Reiner before their training in Marley even began.. something about Reiner's brave personality always drew in Bertolt

He often questioned if he was in love with his best friend

He swore that he didn't but when they started training here in Paradis.. he realized how much he cared and loved the other. He didn't know why he now realized it, why he didn't see it earlier. It was so obvious from the beginning

Bertolt sighed and laid a hand in the titan's hair which was soft and felt just like Reiner's. Soft, tame, and well kept. Even as a titan, Reiner didn't change

Reiner let out a sudden huff covering Bertolt in hot air and Bertolt removed his hand embarrassed  
"S..sorry!"

Bertolt scooted away from the Titan and waited for morning to come quietly

When Reiner woke up he at first he thought he was back in Marley again, then he saw where he was. He was in the forest. The events of the previous night came back to him

He had thought it was some nightmare but it clearly it wasn't

"Good morning Reiner"  
Reiner turned his head to the sound and saw Bertolt in the tree behind him. How he got up there is a mystery to Reiner

Reiner looked down and let out a noise that sounded like a sigh  
"Yeah, I can tell by that face you wish that all of that was some nightmare... me too"

Reiner didn't make any noise in response, yeah Bertolt was right but that didn't make him feel any better

"Um.. are you like hungry or anything?"  
Bertolt asked trying to break the tension. Reiner thought and realized he didn't feel really anything now- he did still feel tired though. He shook his head

"Was just asking, Annie had brought by food while you were asleep. I had saved some for you just in case... even though it probably wouldn't have been enough anyway,,"

Reiner huffed trying to get Bertolt out of his spiraling, which it did work. Bertolt was now looking at the titan in front of him

"Sorry, I guess I just kinda' miss having you talk back.."  
Bertolt had silently admitted. Reiner looked at him worriedly, he brought his finger to the brown hair on the smaller man's head and rubbed it

This had caught Bertolt off guard, but he didn't mind. Reiner's touch was soft and inviting. The warmth of the touch reminding him of how tired he is, he yawned softly

Reiner gave Bertolt a disapproving look when he realized the smaller in his grasp didn't sleep

"Yeah yeah I get that face, someone had to stay up and make sure you didn't get caught like this"  
The titan's face didn't change, he was waiting for Bertolt to say he'd go to sleep

Bertolt sighed and gave in  
"If it'll make you feel better I'll go to sleep but I'm not leaving you here by yourself"

The titan removed his hand from the other titan shifter, causing Bertolt to shiver slightly from the heat that surrounded him leaving

"Hey.. uh, Reiner?"  
Reiner looked over to Bertolt concerned  
"Odd request, Uh, can you hold me or.. something. It's a little cold out right now"

Reiner went blank. He hadn't notice, and he couldn't even tell it was cold. He did remember it was cold when the left last night so it probably is still cold. He laid a weak hand on the ground for Bertolt to get on

It would be an understatement to say Bertolt was nervous, but he trusted his friend.. he stepped on his friends hand reluctantly. The giant then sat up and brought his hand to his chest

Bertolt wasn't completely lying. It was pretty cold out, but he also just wanted to feel safe. Sleeping out in the open didn't exactly fill him with confidence, and soon after being lifted to the titan's chest he fell asleep

Reiner wouldn't lie, holding Bertolt like this made him nervous about possibly hurting him. Bertolt seemed so small and breakable like this. It made him want to protect the small human in his arms despite all his fears

Out of fears of waking him, Reiner lays his head back and begins to let his mind drift to pass the time better. He didn't want to move around and wake the male so he just laid back and let his mind take him

That's when chatter filled his ears. How long had he just laid spayed out? It had to have been at least an hour. He blinked rapidly realizing someone was calling out his name, and calling out Bertolt's name as well. He realized and recognized the voices as Eren and Armin.

_Shit_

That's the last two people who should see him. He looked down to Bertolt who didn't seem to hear their calling out for the both of them. Reiner put Bertolt down and put a finger to the smaller man's chest and pushed down slightly in hopes of waking him up. He didn't know what else to do

Bertolt woke up to the pressure on his chest. He looked up to Reiner confused then he heard Eren and Armin's voices approaching quickly. When the Titan removed his finger from his chest Bertolt got up and ran to the direction of the voices. He needed to distract them

When he saw the brown hair and blonde hair of Eren and Armin come into view he called out their names  
"Eren, Armin! Hey, uh... what are you doing out here?"

Bertolt was trying to hide his nervousness. Reiner isn't that far from here and he probably doesn't have the strength to move anymore. Being in the titan form is exhausting and the long you're in the form the more tired you become

Judging by how long it'd been, Bertolt doubted Reiner had the strength to even use enough strength to drag himself away

Eren was the first to look at Bertolt and Armin followed Eren's gaze next  
"There you are! The commander has been looking for you and Reiner all day? Where the hell have you been!?"  
Eren said, looking like he was about to scold Bertolt like some angry mother

Armin grabbed Eren's shoulder and looked at Bertolt apologetically  
"What he's trying to say is, we're glad you're ok. No one has heard from you all day"

Bertolt let out a nervous chuckle and scratched the back of his neck  
"Yeah yeah uh.. me and Reiner decided to uh.... ditch. Reiner isn't doing the best now so we decided to skip and stay out in the forest to get out of training today"  
That wasn't a complete lie at least, so it wouldn't be as easy to see through it

Eren gave a more concerned look now  
"Is he ok? Do you need any hel-"  
"No!"  
Bertolt didn't even let Eren finish his sentence, when Bertolt saw the fear that had spread to their faces when he yelled. He didn't mean to yell he was just nervous

"I mean... we're fine, we'll be back tonight I promise.."  
Bertolt said trying to be as comforting as he could, he usually didn't do this type of thing with the cadets. He didn't want to be friends with devils

He didn't want to get attached to anyone, and he especially didn't want to accidentally slip up while speaking to them. He didn't want to be the reason he, Reiner, and Annie were found out

"Ok.. if you need anything just come find us, ok?"  
The two left with a wave and Bertolt nervously waved back.

Bertolt questioned why he seemed so.. protective over Reiner now. He could clearly taking care of himself. So why did he just yell at those two for saying something about helping?

When the two were out of view and he turned around and ran back to the spot where Reiner was. He seemed to be attempting to hide behind a tree

"I'm back, they're gone"  
Bertolt said coming up beside his titan friend. He put his hand comfortingly on the large hand beside his

Reiner looked over to Bertolt and let out a breath of relief. Glad that it didn't go wrong, he knew Bertolt wasn't the best at talking to others. Bertolt would talk Reiner and Annie's ears off but would sit silently in pain when it came to others

Reiner never understood that part of Bertolt, but it was probably tied to their different personalities. Maybe Reiner would never understand Bertolt and how he ticks, mainly because he doubts Bertolt would ever open up about that

Bertolt cleared just throat noticing Reiner had drifted  
"I can't imagine how tired you are... we really need to find out how to fix this. Being in form for anytime longer than ten minutes is agony for me.."

Reiner seemed to think, oh. That's probably why he's been so tired. He didn't really put those two things together

"Is there something bothering you, and keeping you like this? It could even be like the smallest thing"

Bertolt sat down in front of Reiner so if the Titan in front of him made attempts to speak to him through signs he'd see them

Reiner seemed to think for a few seconds. He hadn't really thought about that, could it have been his jealousy over the soldiers around him?

No, if anything that would have stopped him from doing this

So what was causing this?

Reiner looked at Bertolt and shook his head. He didn't know why this was happening

Bertolt lowered his head and sighed. He now needed time to do some thinking of his own. Was it something Reiner didn't want to admit possibly? Some sort of fear coming to haunt him?

"Reiner is there something you're not telling me possibly?"  
Bertolt had spoke without thinking this through, but now he had to go with it. So he looked the Titan in its empty, light yellow eyes

Reiner was caught off guard by this comment to say the least. Bertolt seemed deadly serious

Was there something Reiner didn't even know about that was holding him in this form? If so what the hell is it and why can't Reiner figure out what it is

"Please Reiner... I miss seeing your stupid face smiling at me, you have to tell me if there's something you're not telling me that's holding you back"

Hearing Bertolt say I miss you made Reiner tense up. Was that it? Was it something tied to Bertolt? Was Bertolt why he couldn't leave his titan?

Was Reiner too busy to notice.. maybe this was tied to Bertolt

Lately he couldn't stop looking at his best friend. Begging for Bertolt to even make the slightest of eye contact with him. When Bertolt hugged him, he felt his world get happier for some reason

Reiner would joke and play around with Bertolt pushing these feelings beneath the surface. Was... was Reiner falling for Bertolt Hoover? His best friend?

Reiner looked back at Bertolt finally. Realization in his eyes. He realized he had feelings for his best friend. If it were possible tears would probably be falling from the Titan's eyes, but.. Reiner could feel them falling down his human form inside his Titan's nape

Wait. He felt his human self? That means... that means he found it out. The means he can leave

Bertolt watched as the titan's head fell forward and the titan began to steam, Reiner emerged from the nape of the titan with a loud gasp for air, tears falling down the blonde's sharp face

"Reiner!"  
Bertolt looked from below, he didn't have the 3dmg gear and couldn't climb up there because he knew the dissolving corpse was burning hot to the touch

When Reiner got down finally he was slightly steaming in the arms, where his hands used to be, and he seemed weak on his legs

Bertolt didn't know why, but when Reiner reached the ground he ran to the blonde and pulled him into a tight hug as tears began to fall down his face as well

Bertolt held Reiner tightly that he didn't notice when Reiner's legs gave out underneath him, he just was too happy to see Reiner was ok to notice anything else

Reiner was just stuck at the realization, tears still falling from his tired eyes. The wet running down the small lines in his face from his titan transformation. They ran deep into his skin and were a dark red, but weren't painful

"Bertl.."

Bertolt opened his eyes that he had closed while he hugged Reiner and cried. Reiner had called him by his childhood nickname. The one Reiner gave him, the one Bertolt would always get embarrassed when hearing someone call him it

"I found out what it was.. and you should know"

Reiner felt something swell up inside of him. Was it fear? Is this what people call butterflies when they are talking to someone they love? Is this... love?

"Bertl... god damn it, I think I love you? No, I do love you. I love you so much more than a friend"

Bertolt didn't speak. He just looked at the man not far under his face, and kissed him. This wasn't any sexual kiss.. this was a kiss filled with love and care

A kiss of realization, that they both had pushed their feelings so far down because they thought the other would reject them. Fear that maybe, this would ruin their friendship

When they came off each other's lips they panted and shared eye contact as they held each other so tightly

"Reiner... god I've wanted you to say those words for so long. I've wanted to be free to love you like this since we began training in Marley. I've wanted.. you"

Reiner smiled happily, he brought his hands to the slender ones that belonged to Bertolt so that he could hold them in his hands

"Bertl.. I've wanted you all of this time but I didn't want you to know so I.. pushed it down and out of my mind, all because I didn't want you to love me like this but hate the other part of me"

Bertolt crouched down and gave Reiner a kiss on the forehead as he wiped Reiner's tears away from the bumpy, scarred, cheeks under his eyes

"Reiner. I don't care who you are, I don't care what you look like, because I love you. I love you no matter what you look like, or who ever you are forced to be"

They stood there for a minute longer just holding each other. Taking in each other as the events that just happened finally settled in

Soon they snapped back to reality

"Shit, Bertlolt. It's about to be nightfall. We should probably tell Annie I'm ok, and you know... report back to our cabin. Await our punishment from Shadis"

Bertolt turned a bright pink. Right! Annie said she'd help them tonight if they needed it, and they still had their cover as soldiers to protect. He was about to start walking back but he felt his feet leave the ground causing him to let out a small squeak

Reiner had picked up Bertolt, his hands fully healed and the scars disappearing slowly from his face

"You've done a lot for me today, now it's my turn"

Bertolt felt that pink turn to a shade of red from embarrassment, he covered his face and laughed softly. He wasn't gonna object being carried in Reiner's large muscular arms. He loved the comforting heat that Reiner was giving off anyway, it made him forget how cold it was outside as night came

Reiner took Bertolt and himself back to the camp. Their fake comrades hadn't seen them as they appeared by Annie's window. Reiner had put down Bertolt before reaching the window but held his hand as they approached it

Annie sat there as usual, probably waiting to get word from them on what they were gonna do. When they came close enough to the window Annie's blue eyes shot to them. She got up and went outside without a word

When she reached the two she slapped Reiner hard  
"That's for almost exposing us. You're lucky I don't put you in a headlock and beat the shit out of you, that was extremely stupid. This is why I tell you two to not go out by yourselves"

Reiner instinctively rubbed his cheek in pain, but was just happy Annie didn't seem mad enough to you know... murder him  
"Good to see you too Annie"

"I see sending Eren and Armin was good enough motivation to get you two to hurry up. Wasn't sure that it'd work out, but it clearly did. They didn't find out and you're out"  
Annie said with her arms crossed and tapping her foot. What she had just said left Bertolt and Reiner shocked

"You sent Eren and Armin after us knowing it might not completely work?!"  
Bertolt said now taking a step closer to the blonde female in front of him, he was fuming with anger

"It was a calculated risk, but it worked. Don't thank me. Dinner hour starts soon. Get ready or whatever. I'm sure everyone will have questions so be prepared"  
With that Annie left back into the female cabin

Reiner let out a relieved sigh and hugged Bertolt, who returned the hug happily  
"Are you ready? We can go ahead and head into the dinner hall if you want, you know... beat the crowd"

Reiner laughed and nodded, letting go of Bertolt taking his hands into his own  
"Lead the way, I'll follow you anywhere, Bertl.."

**Author's Note:**

> Anyway, this is a special thanks to Sam, a friend of mine who motivated me while writing this story :)!  
> Anyway, until next time! Peace


End file.
